Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to allow an end to legal
protections for Syrian migrants
[February 27, 2026]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on
Thursday to allow it to move ahead with ending legal protections for
migrants from Syria, in the latest emergency appeal to the nation's
highest court.
The Department of Justice wants the court to lift a New York judge's
ruling halting the Department of Homeland Security's decision to end
temporary protected status for Syrians while lawsuits play out.
The government is also asking for a broader ruling that could affect
other cases over protections for people from other countries as the
administration pursues its immigration crackdown.
The conservative-majority court has previously allowed immigration
authorities to end legal protections for migrants from Venezuela as
litigation continues.
About 6,100 people from Syria have temporary legal status after fleeing
armed conflict, according to court documents. Ending those protections
could halt their authorization to work legally in the United States and
expose more to possible deportation, especially the 800 people with
pending applications, according to the International Refugee Assistance
Project.
Protections for Syrians were first granted protected status in 2012,
during a civil war that lasted for more than a decade before the fall of
President Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acted to revoke protected status
less than a year later, finding that the situation "no longer meets the
criteria for an ongoing armed conflict that poses a serious threat to
the personal safety of returning Syrian nationals."
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The Supreme Court is seen, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
Immigration lawyers challenged that decision, arguing that Syria was
still wrestling with a humanitarian crisis and the swift revocation
of legal protections would force Syrians in the United States to
confront “impossible choices.”
Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who was nominated by democratic
President Barack Obama, agreed to delay the termination in November.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals left her decision in place.
The administration argues that the department can grant or revoke
the temporary protections and judges should not interfere. A
response to the administration's appeal is due March 4.
DHS has taken steps to withdraw legal protections that have allowed
immigrants from multiple countries to remain in the United States
and work legally. That includes a combined total of more than a
million people from Venezuela and Haiti. A different judge in
Washington recently blocked the administration from ending
protections for 350,000 Haitians.
The administration has scored a series of wins on the Supreme
Court's emergency docket allowing it to move ahead with key parts of
Trump's agenda, though the justices handed him a significant defeat
on tariffs last week.
Congress created TPS in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries
suffering from natural disasters, civil strife or other dangerous
conditions. The designation is granted in 18-month increments by the
homeland security secretary.
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